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Evan Peters attends the “I Am Woman” press conference during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 06, 2019 in Toronto, Canada.
Evan Peters came under fire on Twitter on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 after a video of looting protestors with an inflammatory caption was retweeted onto his timeline. He later undid the retweet and apologized for his actions.
Followers noticed that a video of looters and protestors being tackled had been retweeting onto the timeline. The tweet read, “I can watch these piece of sh*t looters get tackled all day!!”
People noticed the retweet almost immediately, leading to Peters trending on Twitter with comments regarding racism and comparing the actor to a character he previously played on American Horror Story.
Peters Said the Retweet Was Accidental
I don’t condone the guy watching the news at all in the video which I have deleted. I unknowingly retweeted it. I’m deeply upset it got on my newsfeed. I sincerely apologize if anyone was offended. I support black lives matter wholeheartedly.
— Evan Peters (@Evan_Peters) June 2, 2020
When he realized what happened and what was on his timeline, Peters undid the retweet and posted a tweet to apologize, saying that it had been accidentally retweeted.
“I don’t condone the guy watching the news at all in the video which I have deleted,” the actor wrote. “I unknowingly retweeted it. I’m deeply upset it got on my newsfeed. I sincerely apologize if anyone was offended. I support black lives matter wholeheartedly.”
Fans and followers responded to his apology, writing that retweeting takes more than one step, as you have to hit the button to retweet and then confirm to either retweet the tweet or retweet with comment.
In the video, the person watching the news coverage can be heard saying things like, “Come on, don’t let them get away” and “Come on, get ’em!” regarding the person being chased by the police.
The person in the video is also heard saying “get that little son of a b*tch” and cheers when the person running is ultimately tackled onto the ground.
Peters Also Posted a Black Square for #BlackoutTuesday
— Evan Peters (@Evan_Peters) June 2, 2020
In addition to his apology, Peters posted a black image for #blackouttuesday. The black image had no comment, but people still responded to the actor to tell him they’d caught him for his previous retweet.
Other celebrities have received backlash for participating in the ‘Blackout Tuesday’ activism including Emma Watson, who has said nothing else regarding the #BlackLivesMatter movement on her social media channels.
Peters also posted the black image on his Instagram page, but fans responded with backlash there as well, referencing the retweeted looting video.
The actor previously shared black lives matter content on his Instagram story including lists of charities his 4.2 million followers can donate to and quotes regarding activism from i_weigh.
Evans Received Backlash on Twitter After the Retweet
People took to Twitter to respond to both the video and Peters’s response, saying that it’s hard to retweet something accidentally and mentioning that he was acting like a character he recently portrayed on American Horror Story.
“always wondered how even peters played that racist so well,” one person wrote.
Peters has been rumored to be cast in Disney+’s WandaVision, and he previously played Wanda’s brother in the X-men franchise. The role would likely not be the same since it has been played by a different actor in the MCU and that version of Quicksilver died in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
He will reportedly play a ‘key role’ in the show and has already filmed his scenes.
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